A public transit system to transport people, particularly to and from work, is generally considered a requirement in most larger communities. Public transit permits movement of large volumes of passengers and can significantly reduce pollution levels by reducing levels of car use. It is desirable that a public transit system be as efficient and cost-effective as possible. Currently, most existing public transit systems have evolved into systems that use time dated paper receipts issued by a bus driver or dispensing machine in order to travel on the system. The paper receipt enables passengers to move or transfer free of charge from one vehicle to another as part of a single transit trip, however, the system requires that vehicle operators constantly check for correct fare payment, issue receipts and inspect paper receipts of transferring passengers. With the operator responsible for all these duties on top of operating the vehicle, it is not surprising that fare evasion is easy and can reach substantial levels.
Attempts have been made to automate the process of paying for a ride on a transit system to improve efficiency and lower fare evasion. Applicant is aware of the following patents that are directed to devices and systems useful in automating access to a public transit system:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,977,502 to Baker discloses a transit vehicle fare box for issuing and accepting magnetically encoded fare cards and processing fares according to stored fare tables.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,488,035 to Withnal et al. discloses a ticketing system for use in a passenger transport system. The device uses a ticket reader capable of optically reading information printed on a ticket in bar code. The tickets can be scanned by a reader on a bus that can distinguish between valid and invalid tickets.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,984,170 to Hirahara discloses an automatic ticket vending machine that monitors the day and time at which a ticket is issued to accommodate variations in the ticket price based on the day or time that the ticket is to be used.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,483,361 to Blurton discloses an automatic fare collection system that checks for fare payment on a route having multiple zone fares. The system relies on the bus driver activating a switch when the bus passes into a new fare zone.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,501,622 to Weir et al. discloses an automatic fare system which uses a ticket having magnetic code information and human readable coordinate information as to the initial ticket value and decreasing ticket value as the card is used. The system relies on the trip fare being deducted from the card on exiting from the transit system.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,225,665 to Zerfahs et al. shows a ticket processing device for transit vehicles capable of issuing tickets of different value according to the distance to be travelled. Information is stored on a magnetic strip on the ticket, and, if a multiple ride ticket is purchased, the system is capable of reducing the value of the ticket for each ride taken.
In the foregoing systems, the problem remains that paper receipts must still be issued and vehicle operators must continue to check receipts in order to handle transfer of passengers within the transit system. Otherwise, each time a passenger enters a vehicle, they must pay a fare which is clearly unacceptable to a passenger who must transfer between a number of transit routes in a single trip to reach a destination or who must transfer from a bus to a rail rapid transit line.